Facial Aesthetic Surgery

Component Facelift: Sum Is Greater Than Its Parts

New York, NY (February 5, 2004) — Long-lasting, natural-looking results are among the benefits of the Component Facelift, according to plastic surgeon Robert Bernard, MD, who presents his technique in the current issue of Aesthetic Surgery Journal (ASJ). "There are many facelift techniques that produce good results," says Dr. Bernard, who practices in White Plains, NY, and is president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). "For the Component Facelift, I've taken the best elements of several popular methods and combined them in a way that works well in treating a wide range of patients."

One of the reasons why the Component Facelift lasts so well is because the lift is supported by the underlying structures of the face. This support is achieved without undermining the tissues as extensively as in some other techniques. Dr. Bernard says that this increases the safety of the procedure while decreasing recovery time.

"Instead of a scar on the face in front of the ear, the incision is hidden just inside the ear - along the little skin flap in the front - and other incisions are placed so that a woman can wear her hair up without anything showing," he says.

Sculpting of the area just beneath the jaw line is another trademark of the Component Facelift. "This area, which I call the 'trough,' usually is more defined in the youthful face," says Dr. Bernard. "I often 'defat' it during facelift surgery to create a more chiseled appearance. However, the depth of the trough must be appropriate to the rest of the face," he says, adding that a deep, well-defined trough would look incongruous with a round, full face.

"The individualized approach to facelift surgery is extremely important, and surgeons often change or adapt their standard technique depending on individual patient factors," agrees Jay Burns, MD, Chair of ASAPS' Facial Surgery Committee. Dr. Burns adds that a recent poll showed aesthetic plastic surgeons practice a wide range of techniques, and clinical studies have failed to prove that any of the commonly performed methods is vastly superior to the others in terms of quality or length of results. "What matters more than the specific technique is the skill of the plastic surgeon," says Dr. Burns.

Dr. Bernard will discuss facial rejuvenation as one of the participants in a panel on creating the youthful neck at ASAPS' upcoming annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia (April 15-21, 2004).